Table 1 Summary of findings on key elements of effective coordination

Inclusivity of coordination

• Engagement and input from all relevant government sectors (multisectoral coordination), including sufficient technical input on health but also coordination with areas such as water and sanitation, social protection, agriculture, disaster management, and finance

• Effective cooperation and communication between national and local governments (vertical coordination), including consistent and aligned guidance to local levels, clarity on roles, clear systems for reporting information upwards, and national government responsiveness to district needs

• Government engagement with other stakeholders, including development agencies, local leaders and civil society, religious leaders, research institutions and the private sector

• Development and humanitarian agencies working through agreed coordinating structures and funding systems, and approaching work collaboratively

• Coordination and unified contact points among development agencies on the one side, and among government stakeholders on the other, to facilitate communication between multiple development agencies and government bodies

• Gender equity in representation and involvement in coordination fora, across government and other stakeholders

Structural features of coordination mechanisms

• Availability of functioning coordination structures, including regular meetings at national and sub-national levels

• Clear roles for each coordination structure and organisation responsible for coordination, including at different government levels, to avoid overlapping remits. Tools such as accountability matrices can help to avoid duplication and clarify responsibilities

• Clear relationships and sets of responsibilities between disaster risk management coordination authorities and sectoral ministries

• Mandates for coordination bodies that are sufficiently wide to support responses to the range of relevant shocks

• Sufficient authority for coordination bodies to convene relevant actors and ensure the implementation of agreed plans. Positioning directly under the president or prime minister (rather than in a ministry) can support this authority

• Coordination structures that function on an ongoing basis—before shocks occur to enable preparedness and anticipatory planning, and after shocks to support learning and recovery

• Using existing structures can support coordination during shocks, by providing established organisational arrangements, roles, relationships and ways of working; new structures may require additional support

Adequate capacity of coordination bodies and use of learning from previous shocks

• Adequate numbers of staff with political and technical expertise, including expertise for all relevant types of shock, within coordination bodies at different levels

• Career paths that reward expertise and provide stability of employment for at least core staff, to support skills, motivation and accountability

• Adequate funding and communications infrastructure for organisations responsible for coordination, across relevant government sectors and levels

• Support for sustained and ongoing capacity, rather than short term technical assistance or capacity only during emergencies

• Learning from previous shocks, enabled by time for reflection, leadership to act on learning, accountability for emergency response as part of core staff roles, and the retention and exchange of organisational learning, including through standing (rather than ad hoc) coordination structures

Political considerations and effective government leadership

• Effective political leadership, at national and subnational levels and in different government sectors, balanced with technical input from government and other stakeholders

• Political, organisational, and individual incentives to support coordination, including in relation to transparent and accurate information sharing

• Regular communication and reporting across government levels to promote effective subnational leadership and accountability